Joel McHale Confirms ‘Community’ Movie Will Start Filming ‘This Year’
Michael Kovac/Getty Images for YahooClass is almost back in session as the cast of Community returns for a brand-new movie on Peacock. The NBC streaming service confirmed in 2022 that the sitcom, created by Dan Harmon, would be getting the movie treatment starring many of its original cast members. The announcement fulfilled one of Community’s longest-running jokes, as Danny Pudi’s Abed Nadir often declared that the show would run for “six seasons and a movie.” Community premiered on NBC in 2009 and followed the antics of a study group at Greendale Community College. It ran for five seasons before being canceled in 2014, though it was ultimately picked up for one final season on the short-lived streamer Yahoo! Screen. The service shut down less than a year after Community’s final episode aired in June 2015. Not long after the show’s conclusion, star Joel McHale teased that fans could see their hopes of a Community movie come to life down the line. “Dan Harmon has to write it, and writi
Class is almost back in session as the cast of Community returns for a brand-new movie on Peacock.
The NBC streaming service confirmed in 2022 that the sitcom, created by Dan Harmon, would be getting the movie treatment starring many of its original cast members. The announcement fulfilled one of Community’s longest-running jokes, as Danny Pudi’s Abed Nadir often declared that the show would run for “six seasons and a movie.”
Community premiered on NBC in 2009 and followed the antics of a study group at Greendale Community College. It ran for five seasons before being canceled in 2014, though it was ultimately picked up for one final season on the short-lived streamer Yahoo! Screen. The service shut down less than a year after Community’s final episode aired in June 2015.
Not long after the show’s conclusion, star Joel McHale teased that fans could see their hopes of a Community movie come to life down the line. “Dan Harmon has to write it, and writing a movie script takes a while,” he told HuffPostLive in June 2015. “It’s not necessarily an easy thing. So he has to write it, then we’ll get around to it.”
6 Seasons and a Movie! See the 'Community' Cast Then and Now
Keep scrolling for everything we know about the Community movie so far:
When Is the ‘Community’ Movie Going to Be Released?
A release date for the Community movie has not been announced, though it is expected to premiere in 2024. Like many TV shows and films, production on the projects was delayed due to the 2023 Hollywood WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
Which ‘Community’ Cast Members Are Returning for the Movie?
At the time of the film’s announcement, McHale was revealed to be returning as Jeff Winger alongside Pudi as Abed Nadir, Alison Brie as Annie Edison, Gillian Jacobs as Britta Perry, Jim Rash as Dean Craig Pelton and Ken Jeong as Ben Chang.
Donald Glover, who played Troy Barnes, confirmed his return in a January 2024 interview with Entertainment Tonight, stating, “It’s really just a schedule thing [but] I’m in. I’m all in.” That same month, Jeong seemingly hinted that Yvette Nicole Brown, who portrayed Shirley Bennett, would also be returning while listing off cast member names on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
It is unknown whether some of Community’s recurring characters will return, such as John Oliver as Professor Ian Duncan, Jonathan Banks as Professor Buzz Hickey and Paget Brewster as Frankie Dart.
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Will Chevy Chase Appear in the ‘Community’ Movie?
Chase will likely not reprise his role as Pierce Hawthorne in the movie as his character was killed off during season 5. He exited the series in 2012 after allegedly using the N-word on set. Although he apologized at the time, Glover claimed in 2018 that the actor made several racially insensitive jokes toward him while filming.
In September 2023, Chase criticized the show for not being “funny enough” for him, telling the “WTF with Marc Maron” podcast, “I felt a bit constrained. Everybody had their bits, and I thought they were all good. It just wasn’t hard-hitting enough for me.”
What Is the Plot of the ‘Community’ Movie?
The plot of the film is currently being kept under wraps, though it will likely see the former Greendale students reunite at the community college for some funny hijinks.
However, Harmon has teased what things fans shouldn’t expect to see when the film hits Peacock, such as another one of the show’s famous paintball fights.
“You’re running around with guns in a school, which was never a good idea on TV even back then,” he remarked on a December 2022 episode of the “Six Seasons and a Podcast” podcast.
He went on to note that the movie would not follow a similar plot to the show’s last season, which saw the study group return to Greendale to help save the school.
Does the ‘Community’ Movie Have a Script?
“I was told that the script was done,” Glover told Entertainment Tonight in January 2024. “I haven’t read it yet.”
Harmon confirmed Glover’s comments in a February 2024 interview with Variety, noting, “But I will also say Donald’s sources are so unreliable because the script is always ‘almost done.’”
Teasing the film’s plot, Harmon continued: “What can I tell you about it — it’s set on the campus of Greendale Community College. I’m super excited about it, and we’re almost done.”
When Will the ‘Community’ Movie Start Filming?
McHale said he’ll be “shocked” if the movie doesn’t start filming “this year.”
“But I really do think it’s happening this year, and probably next week,” he revealed during a March 2024 interview with Deadline. “It’s basically working around Donald’s schedule.”
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